FIC: Dauntless: Forgotten Heroes (4/?)

["Shadow" <Shadowlander1@xxxxxxx>]

Title: Dauntless: Forgotten Heroes (4/?)
Author: Shadowlander
Email: Shadowlander1@xxxxxxx
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters commonly associated with
Buffy: The Vampire Slayer; X-Men or any of their sister teams; or Star
Trek: The Next Generation, they belong to others and are used without
permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Rating: PG
Pairing: Suggestions on whom you would like to see pair up are welcome.
:)
Archive: The usual places all others please ask first.
Summary: They just found out that their entire lives are lies, now
what?

DAUNTLESS: FORGOTTEN HEROES (4/?)

Senior Command Staff Lounge -

Natasha Yar prowled when she was nervous or irritated, that was one of
the things William Blood first noted about the executive officer shortly
after meeting her... well that and she was one of the craziest humans he
had ever met. Only a nut would be willing to cross a Carnellian
minefield to grab a wounded colonist, especially when the very same
Carnellians, who installed the damn thing in the first place, are
shelling the hell out of the colony in question at the time. Not that
he would have left the luckless git, who got himself caught out there,
to die but he seriously doubted he would have deliberately set off the
minefield either. Although the vampire did have to admit it was a
rather interesting way to destroy the advancing Carnellian artillery,
not to mention get yourself singed in the process.

The vampire security chief was brought out of his silent musings on the
first officer's apparent lack of sanity, by the arrival of the little
redhead that served as acting chief engineer of the ship. "Apologizes
Captain... I was unavoidably detained by a possessed plasma injector,"
Acting-Lieutenant Willow Rosenberg said taking her seat next to the
bleached blonde vampire, absently brushing a lock of hair behind her
ear.

"Oh come on... I thought we got rid of that little imp," Doug Ramsey
groaned banging his head on the tabletop, knowing that whenever the
redhead used words like "possessed" or "demonic" chances are she meant
exactly what she said.

"Oh we did... he just left us a little surprise in the warp injector is
all," she assured the young man, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she
thought of the look on the imp's face the next time he tried to cast any
magic. 'Teach that little bastard to mess with my engines,' she thought
smugly, taking a moment to enjoy her little revenge on the pintsize
troublemaker that caused so much mischief a few weeks ago. The
engineering staff was still resetting the environmental controls in some
of the unoccupied compartments of the massive ship.

"Willow... we aren't going to be getting any complaints from the Avalon
Consul are we?" Captain Lensherr asked, with an arched eyebrow, he knew
the devious mind that lurked behind the innocent smile of his Chief
Engineer.

"No... at least I don't think so. I doubt they could trace it back to
the ship," Willow replied honestly, still miffed over the imp's partial
immunity from prosecution as the son of Avalon's Ambassador to the
Federation. All the trouble the spoiled little imp caused and there
wasn't a thing they could do about it because 'daddy' was an Ambassador.

"Red... what did you do?" the vampire asked, not liking that smug little
look in her eyes one bit.

"Nothing... I just made sure that the next time he used any of his magic
his father the ambassador would know it."

"Exactly how?" the captain found himself asking, realizing once again
that the young officer had all the making of a very competent officer or
one really good thief, either way he was glad she was on his staff.,
where he could keep an eye on her.

"By turning him neon green," the redhead replied with a straight face.

"I'll make the arrangements for acting-Lieutenant Rosenberg's alibi
Captain," Commander Yar commented dryly with a slight smirk, silently
wishing to be there when the annoying little snot turned his father neon
green. "She's been recovering from a mild bout of the Batezed
influenzas and hasn't had the energy to cast any spells lately." She
said after a moment, her mind going over everything she had learned from
her mentor in the occult Rupert Giles. The British Historian being the
person who had taught her how to read when she was a terrified,
'tough-as-nails' fifteen year old that escaped the horrors of her home
world. There were times he had to run her out of the ship's library as
she poured over every book she could get her hands on.

"I'll make the proper notations in her medical record," Doctor Crusher
agreed, rubbing her temples tiredly, she could see the Avalon Ambassador
now turning bright neon green in the middle of the Federation Council
Hall. While the image wasn't all that distasteful to her, she felt the
Ambassador to be a bigger pain-in-the ass then his son, she couldn't get
the added image of him inexplicably wearing traditional Klingon
battle-dress at the time with a feathered boa around his neck.

"Very well," Lensherr agreed, with a strangely similar image running
through his mind. "Now if we can get down to business... I trust you
all have read the preliminary report about our recent visitor." He
began taking the time to acknowledge his assembled command staff. Yar
posting herself against the bulkhead to his left, the young woman's
nervous energy making it almost impossible for her to sit still for too
long. His security chief and chief engineer seated to his left, while
the chief medical officer and Doug Ramsey set on his right. At the end
of the table was Cordelia, still looking a bit flushed, and medic
Sinclair who was keeping a watchful eye on her. After getting a nod
from each of them he continued, "impressions... anyone?" he asked,
wanting to get his, admittedly strange, command staff's reactions and
opinions on the rather bizarre situation they have somehow found
themselves in.

"Its rubbish, Erik that demon git was trying to pull a fast one on us,"
the vampire replied, "he's up to something and trying to get us to do
his dirty work."

"Agreed Captain... there is no proof that our entire lives are lies,"
Yar cut in, saying the last word with a sneer. "What exactly do we know
of this Whistler character anyway?"

"Well he certainly isn't a snappy dresser," Ramsey said in a stage
whisper certain he was going to have nightmares about the badly dressed
creature for at least a week.

"But he is a demon," Rahne replied with a shy smile having heard
Ramsey's soft-spoken comment.

"Demon? Any idea what kind?" the silver-haired captain asked.

"Not sure... even came across one with his scent before, but he did reek
of magic. Tis a cross between good and evil... never encountered
anything like it before," Rahne reported, gathering her thoughts before
adding, "and another thing... he knows Q... or at least the git is
helping him, smelled the stench of the Continuum after he disappeared."

"Oh bloody wonderful.... just what we needed another visit by Q the All
Annoying," the vampire growled, remembering the last visit the
self-proclaimed omnipotent being made to the ship one the crew was still
recovering from in a lot of ways.

"That doesn't sound like Q at all," Beverly Crusher disagreed, reviewing
the facts. "Its not like Q to let another do his dirty work for him, if
he was behind this he would have already shown himself."

"Agreed," Lensherr acknowledged with an absent nod.

"Doesn't sound like him? The worthless pounce damn near gets three
members of the command staff killed and you're arguing his MO.?" The
security chief growled back, his hatred of the so-called god-like being
clear in his eyes.

"William no one is arguing that Q is not to be trusted," Erik cut in,
calming the vampire with a hand gesture, knowing full well the intense
hatred several members of the crew has toward the being that had invade
the ship and their lives repeated over the years disrupting all of their
lives with his petty games.

"Beverly is right... this is not Q's style not enough flash for him,"
Tasha finally spoke, her eyes cold and hard as she forcibly pushed aside
memories of Q's last visit. The memories and wounds too fresh as she
recalled being forced to relive being ganged raped in his failed attempt
to prove humanity's barbarian-like ways once and for all.

"So where does that leave us? This Whistler creature being right and
our lives are one big cosmic joke?" Ramsey asked, hating the situation
the more he thought about it.

"That's not good enough... I refuse to believe any of what this Whistler
being has to say," Lensherr replied coming to a decision. "We will
investigate the situation and if it IS all an elaborate prank
orchestrated by our mysterious demon or Q... we will deal with them when
the time comes. Cordelia... Whistler apparently made you a seer once
more... did you see anything?"

"I... I'm not sure, it was all disjointed," Cadet chase began after a
moment, "I saw Commander Yar moving around some ruins and this really
big and ugly thing that was trying to tear her apart... and oh yeah
there was this sign that I think read... 'Welcome to Turkana IV: City of
Peace' or something like that," she finished unsure if she was
remembering that last part right. "Only it didn't look very peaceful
or intact for that matter."

"Damn," the low voice growled brought everyone's attention to the
executive officer that had suddenly turned white as a ghost at the
Cadet's word. "I was born on Turkana IV, Captain," she reported after a
moment, her eyes unseeing as they tried to bore a hole in the bulkhead
opposite her, "it would make the perfect home for a demon."

End Part Four.

Minor notes: Tasha actually did make her way through a Carnellian
minefield once, as Picard once said in actual dialogue from the Next
Gen. although I did add a little bit to it. :) Also the command staff
has been named and are the main characters of the story, although a few
other will later be introduced as the story progresses, but mainly
anyone that was in the lounge is going to be the leads. Questions?
Commetns? Suggestions? So is anyone out there still reading this one?

Shadow -
Dir. of Pub. Safety of the SECLGA and Chief Dungeon Keeper.
Vampire Teddy Bear and Flying Fox {Fruit Bat} of the Woods Outback.
The Big Bad and Little Comma.